Wire-stretcher



(No Model.) H. STAHL & A. F. DIGKBY.

WIRE "STRETCHER,

vNo. 487,101. Patented Nov.-29, 1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERMAN STAHL AND AARON F. DICKEY, OF FRIEDENS, PENNSYLVANIA.

WIRE-STRETCHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 487,101, dated November29, 1892.

Application iiled .T une 25,1892. Serial No. 437,990. (No model.)

To otZZ whom it may concern.:

Be it known that we, HERMAN STAHL and AARON F. DICKEY, of Friedens, inthe county of Somerset and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Vire-Fence Stretcher-s; and we do herebydeclare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itpertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, which form part of this specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in wire-fence stretchers; and itconsists in the particular construction, which will be fully describedhereinafter, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The object of our invention is to provide a simple metallicwire-stretcher of the particular construction hereinafter shown anddescribed that can be applied to the side of a post, the end of the wireplaced in an opening therein, and then the same turned toposition totighten or slacken the wire by means of a wrench.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure iis a perspective view of a postwith my invention applied thereto and showing a stay to prevent the postfrom turning. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detached perspective of thestretcher.

A indicates a fence post, and B a stay which is applied at one side ofthe post to prevent the same from turning under the tension of thewires.

C indicates a stretcher, which consists of a central round hub portionD, which is provided with an opening E, which extends therein radiallyfor the reception of the end of the Wire which is to be secured andwound thereto. `'Ihe inner face of this round portion is provided withratchet-teeth F, which are forced into the post, as hereinafterdescribed, and prevent the hub from revolving under the tension of theWire.

We show ratchet-teeth F upon the periphery of the stretcher, which, aswill be readily understood, form shoulders or abutments with the postwith which they engage when the receive an ordinary wrench, by means ofwhich the stretcher can be turned and the wire thus tightened.

The stretcher is provided with a central longitudinal opening H, throughwhich a large screw I passes into the post and by means of which thestretcher is held in place and the teeth F forced into the post. Thisscrew is also provided with a square head, so that it can be turned by awrench, and is provided with a gimlet-screw at its inner end, so that itcan be started by driving and then turned to position.

In operation the stretcher is turned by a wrench until the desiredtension is acquired and held in this tightened position while anotherwrench is applied to the screw, and thereby the teeth of the stretcherforced into the post to prevent it from turning.

From the above description it will be seen that we have produced a verysimple and cheap stretcher, which can be quickly and readily applied toposts and then the end of the wire inserted into the opening in theperiphery of the hub portion thereof and twisted or wrapped around it,and thus stretched to any desired degree, the stretcher being heldagainst rotation by forcing the teeth F into the post by the screw orbolt I.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. A wire-stretcher comprising a casting having a longitudinal openingand teeth upon its inner end or face, adapted to engagea post, anoutwardly-projecting hub portion around which the wire is wrapped, and aholding and clamping screw or bolt passing through the said stretcherinto the post.

2. A wire-stretcher comprising a casting having a longitudinal opening,teeth upon the inner end or face, adapted to engage a post, a hubportion extending outward from the said toothed end and having its outerend made angular, for the purpose described, and a clamping-screwpassing through the longitudinal opening into a post.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

HERMAN STAI-IL.' AARON F. DIC/KEY.

Witnesses:

IsAIAH Gooi), J os. LEVY.

IOO

